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While the band’s four members come from different parts of the country — Minnesota, Texas, New Jersey and Florida, to be exact — American Authors‘ origin story begin at Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music in 2006. Kicking around town under various names, they eventually relocated to Brooklyn, NY, where they rechristened the band with its now-famous literary moniker.

Currently riding high on the enduring breakout success of the infectiously catchy hit single, “Best Day of My Life,” off the band’s recently released debut album, Oh, What a Life, American Authors is among the alt-rock outfits to watch going forward in 2014.

During a recent interview with Fan Sports Live, the members of American Authors chatted about the band’s collective love of sports, and the strong connection with Major League Baseball.

“MLB has been great,” American Authors frontman Zac Barnett said. “They picked up [“Best Day of My Life”] for their Fan Cave, and then we went in for some interviews, ended up playing the Fan Cave, and the song started airing during [last year’s] World Series, so it turned out to be this really cool relationship. MLB has been so great.”

When it comes to the band’s favorite sports franchises, they’re all over the map, naming Columbia’s national soccer team, the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and the now-defunct minor league ice hockey squad, the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks.

They all agreed that Coldplay frontman Chris Martin would make a good athlete (“he just runs around the stage all day”), as would Fall Out Boy‘s drummer, Andy Hurley, since he’s “ripped, tats…people would just be afraid to approach him. He could intimidate you.” Kanye West also made the cut as a potentially great synchronized swimmer: “He would kill it,” guitarist James Adam Shelley said laughing.

“The World Series in Boston was definitely our favorite sports moment,” Barnett said of the 2013 season that ended with Boston’s Red Sox winning the pennant over the St. Louis Cardinals in the best of seven game series.

“Berklee wasn’t far from Fenway [Park],” added drummer Matt Sanchez in reference to Boston’s legendary home stadium of the Red Sox. “You could hear the crowd cheering like crazy. I remember walking down the street and there were so many cops in riot gear. The energy of the city, it was just buzzing.”